Mattress supporting construction



A. L. FREEDLANDER 2,847,685

Aug. 19, 1958 MATTRESS SUPPORTING CONSTRUCTION Filed May 3, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet l 3 1 4- V INVENTOR.

A. L. FREEDLANDER ATT'Y.

Aug. 19, 1958 Filed May 3, 1952 A. L- FREEDLANDER MATTRESS SUPPORTINGCONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

A. L. FREEDLANIDER United States Patent Office 2,847,685 Patented Aug.19, 1958 MATTRESS SUPPORTING CONSTRUCTION Abraham Lincoln Freedlander,Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The Dayton Rubber Company, a corporation ofOhio Application May 3, 1952, Serial No. 285,901

1 Claim. (Cl. -354) The present invention relates to an improved type ofmattress supporting construction, and more particularly to a novel typeof bed-board structure for use in supporting a mattress either with orwithout a bed spring. It is common practice to utilize bed boards madeof wood or compressed fiber between a mattress and spring in order tomodify softness in the mattress-spring assembly since it is recognizedthat excessive softness in a mattress structure is undesirable from thestandpoint of proper bodilysupport during rest or sleep. Bed boards ofthis type have the disadvantage of being relatively rigid and inflexiblethus, in effect, preventing any cooperative action between the springand mattress and causing loss of any of the advantages to be obtained bya mattress construction having supporting or controlled yieldability.This is particularly true in the case of foam rubber mattresses whichare now coming into extensive use.

In accordance with the present invention, applicant has provided a noveltype of bed-board construction which will provide a firm support for themattress and will be of controlled yieldability in order to give thedesired degree of firmness for supporting a reclining body. Furthermore,such a board of controlled yieldability will permit use with or withoutthe additional support of a spring construction, and is especiallyadaptable to be used in combination with a foam rubber mattress. Inaddition, the flexible and yieldable bed boards of the present inventionpermit use without excessive transmission of movement from one portionof the bed tothe other which would be particularly noticeable in thecase of double beds, and furthermore, proves itself readily adaptable tosupporting loads of different weights on difierent sides of themattress.

The above-mentioned objectives and advantages may be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from an examination of the specification anddrawings referred to herein.

Certain preferred forms of the present invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 represents a view partly in elevation and partly in crosssection of a bed assembly incorporating a bed board of the presentinvention.

Figure 2 illustrates a view in elevation of the bedboard constructionreferred to herein.

Figure 3 describes a view in transverse cross section taken along lines3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 illustrates a transverse cross-sectional view of a modifiedform of a bed-board construction taken along the same plane as Figure 3.

Figure 5 illustrates a view in elevation of another modified form ofbed-board construction.

Figure 6 illustrates a view in elevation of still a further modificationof the novel bed-board construction of this invention.

Figure 7 describes a vertical cross section taken through a portion ofthe construction of Figure 6 along line 7--7.

Figure 1 illustrates a bed construction of the Holly wood type in whicha box spring 11 is supported upon frame 10 said frame having legs, and amattress 12 is supported upon a bed-board of the present inventionpositioned between the box spring and the mattress. Instead of a boxspring, 11 may also represent a mattress supporting platform of anydesired type. The mattress illustrated is of a foam rubber construction,but conventional cotton or spring-filled mattresses may also be used.

Figure 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view describing one form ofconstruction of the bed board 13 which is illustrated in Figure 2. Thismodification is constructed of a rubber composition 14 havingincorporated there with fibers 15. These fibers preferably extendtransversely of the longitudinal axis of the board. The fibers areincorporated into the rubber compound by milling or otherwise and areintimately dispersed therein. When the milled compound is calendered orotherwise formed into sheets, the fibers are aligned in substantiallythe direction of forming of the sheet. The sheets may then be cut intothe desired size and shape with the fibers running in the desireddirection with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bed. The rubberbase compound of which the foam is formed is a fairly hard yet flexiblecompound which may be composed of either natural or synthetic rubber, ora blend thereof. The amount of y-ieldability of the board may becontrolled within the desired limits by regulating either the extent ofcure of the rubber compound or the proportion of fibers incorporatedtherein, .or both. Preferably, the fibers utilized may range in lengthfrom /8 in. to /2 in. Ordinarily, the fibers are obtained by grinding orchopping of longer fibers and the resultant product is usually a mixtureof fibers of varying lengths. In order to obtain an intimate dispersionof the fibers and proper alignment, it is desirable to avoid having toohigh a proportion of fibers of /2 in. in length. On the other hand, inorder to obtain a suitable degree of directional reinforcement, it isdesirable that the fibers not be too finely divided, and the inclusionof excessive proportions of fibers of less than A; in. in length shouldbe avoided. For ordinary purposes the incorporation of from 10 to 50percent of fiber based on the rubber in the compound by weight, ispreferred.

A typical compound for fabrication of the bed board of this inventionmay be formulated as follows:

Parts by Weight The various compounds are milled together and thencalendered into a sheet which is vulcanized either in a press or in opensteam between plates under some pressure. The rubber may be naturalrubber or one of the synthetic rubbers, such as the butadiene-styrenecopolymer or the butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer, or the like. Thefiber may be in any desired proportion, preferably ranging from 10 to 50parts per parts of rubber,

and may be either cotton, rayon, nylon, or other natural or synthetictextile fibers. Glass fibers may also be used. The compound is preparedto give a final hardness sufficiently resilient to give the desiredsupport to the mattress. A Shore A Durometer hardness of from about-.1position'similarrto thatdescribed in Figure 3 with the fibers 'inuonelayer running at anan'gleto'thefibers in'the adjacent layer. .For:example, fibers 17 incorporated in thecompound-of toplayer 16 mayruntransversely to the longitudinal axis of the board, while fibers 19incorporated in'rcompound '18 of the adjacent layer may run in -adirection atright angles to the direction of the fibers in layer 16.This will provide additional control of the yieldability inmore than onedirection. Obviously, if

desired, the fibers in successive layers may extend at acute angles toone another rather than at right angles.

Figure 5 illustrates :a sectional .bed board 13b which is formed inthree sections 20,21, and 22, each section exttendingtransversely of thebedand hinged at the joints by hinge means 23 and 2.4.

Figure 6 illustrates a modified'type of sectional bed board which isdivided into both longitudinal and transverse-sections 25, 26, 27, 28,29, and 30, and hinged in both directions by means of hingemeans 31, 32,and 33. As :shown in Figure 7, these hinge means may preferably be inthe form of a flexible rubber strip 31 ccmented at the juncture ofadjacent sections, which, for example, may be sections 25 and 27. Aflexible hinge of this type not only permits flexing at the joints underload, but also permits one section to be depressed ver- .tically withrespect .to another should the nature of the load require this. Thisvertical depression or displacement of the individual sections is to bedistinguished from the pivoting at the joints between such sections asin the case of conventionally employed 'hinge connections. While thesections according to the present invention are joined so that undercertain load conditions there will be a pivotal or hinge action betweenthe sections, this invention involves the further novel feature of anactual vertical displacement of one section relative to the common planeof the remaining sections so that even the marginal portions of thedisplaced section are themselves 4 removed from the common plane of theremainder of the sections.

Sectional boards of the type set forth in Figures 5 to 7, inclusive,have the advantage that they permit better distribution of the bodyweight and thus provide more uniform support. It is recognized that mostof the weight of the human body is distributed in the region between theneck and the knees and the central section of the board may be designedto have such dimensions as to distribute this portion of the'body weightover the surface thereof.

The above-described modifications represent certain preferred forms ofthe invention, but it is obvious that many modifications and variationsthereof may be made without departing from thespirit and .scope thereof;therefore, only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated inthe appended claim.

I claim:

A bedboard construction for positioning between a mattress and a bedfoundation member designed to accommodate the weight of the body ofaperson reclining onsaid mattress, comprising a sectioned sheet ofvulcanized rubber-like material having a plurality of discrete, parallelfibers of relatively short length arranged therein, wherein theindividual sections of said sheet lie transversely of the body of aperson reclining in normal posi- .tion upon said mattress, are joined byelastic strips adhered to the marginal .portion of their broadsidesurfaces and are vertically displaceable from their common plane ofrepose and wherein saidfibers extend longitudinally of saidsections.

References Citedin'thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 920,256Broadhurst-et al. May 4, 1909 1,000,781 Collier Aug. 15,1911 2,135,057Slayter etial Nov. 1, 1938 2,490,867 Greenhill Dec. 13, 1949 2,551,976Smith May 8, 1951 2,616,100 Weiner Nov. 4, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 507,215Great Britain June 9, 1939

